Horror fans were pretty upset when the Candyman reboot was pulled from the theatrical schedule entirely, and they didn’t get any happier when it was confirmed that the hotly-anticipated pic had been shunted all the way back to August 2021. After all, based on everything we’ve seen so far from the project, the new spin on the mythology first introduced to audiences in 1992 was shaping up to be one of the year’s scariest and most chilling efforts.
Director Nia DaCosta has already cemented her status as Hollywood’s next big thing having signed on to helm the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain Marvel 2, a hugely impressive feat given that she’s only 30 years old with just two feature films and two episodes of a TV series under her belt. Even if it wasn’t for the incredibly atmospheric footage, though, Jordan Peele’s presence as producer and co-writer would already be enough to entice horror fans given the way that his last few efforts have turned out.
Now, in a recent interview, DaCosta has revealed how she wants Candyman to get inside the head of audiences all over the world and remain stuck in their psyches long after they’ve left the theater and returned home.
“If someone goes home after watching this movie and looks at their own rash, or bump, or mosquito bite and is a little more freaked out, then I’ve done my job. And that’s really what I wanted to do. It’s about getting inside the head of the audience and really viscerally disturbing them and tracking it psychologically with the sense of the main character.”
Of course, there’s every chance that the filmmaker will succeed in her goal, with Candyman shifting from being one of 2020’s most anticipated horror movies to occupying exactly the same status for next year. While it would have been ideal to see it on the biggest screen possible in the buildup to Halloween, a summer release date looks to be a huge sign of confidence in the project from studio Universal, who will no doubt heavily play up the Jordan Peele connection in the marketing campaign.